First edition of a treatise on perspective using the theories and methods of Girard Desargues (1591-1661), lucidly exposed and illustrated by his friend and follower, the engraver Abraham Bosse. It is a continuation of Bosse's Manière universelle de Mr Desargues pour pratiquer la perspective … (1648), which was devoted to perspective drawing on a plane surface. Here Desargues's system is applied to angled and curved surfaces and Bosse addresses both theorists as well as practicians. "His Moyen universelle ... paid particular attention to the illusionistic projection of perspective onto ceilings and vaults of various configurations" (Kemp). Bosse's own engravings are well-executed and aren't limited to straight theoretical illustrations.Desargues was "a geometer of profoundly original ideas" (DSB). However, his use of original vocabulary and his refusal to resort to Cartesian symbolism made his work difficult to read and his important contributions to geometry were only known to a small audience. In 1642 a series of polemics attacking Desargues caught up in a series of polemics known as the "French perspective wars", which caused him to retreat behind his disciple Abraham Bosse, to whom he entrusted the task of disseminating his methods and defending his work.A couple smudges, but otherwise in very good condition.Berlin Kat. 4718; Cicognara 820; Kemp, The science of art, pp. 121-125, et passim; for Desargues: DSB IV, pp. 46-51.